Chapter 90
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 90
Chapter Title: Lessons to Become a Black Magician
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I'm about to start lessons on becoming a Black Magician, but...
Now that I'm actually getting started, I have no idea where to begin teaching.
After that bitch Mir summoned me to another world and checked my talents, she discovered I had an aptitude for Black Magic, so I dove right into it.
But everyone shunned Black Magicians, so there wasn't a single person willing to teach me anything about it.
I had no choice but to teach myself. Only after reaching a certain level did I finally meet other Black Magicians, but by then I was already stronger than the average ones. The only things I could learn from them were minor tips.
Of course, after that, most of my insights into Black Magic came from my own efforts. In the end, I contributed greatly to defeating the Demon King who threatened humanity.
In other words, I'd never learned Black Magic from anyone else, nor had I ever taught it to anyone. So I had no clue how to start.
Should I just reference how I got started?
"First, I need to explain Demonic Energy in some detail. Listen carefully."
"Yes, Master."
From Lee Seoyun's perspective, she doesn't even know what Demonic Energy is yet, so I had to start from the very basics.
I watched her listening intently to my explanation, then had her repeat it back to me.
I figured it would be hard for her to grasp right away, but surprisingly, she could roughly paraphrase what I'd said. It seemed like she'd understood at least somewhat.
Even though it was a completely foreign concept, she picked it up quickly, so her head wasn't half bad.
I felt a bit pleased that my new disciple had a sharp mind. That's when Lee Seoyun raised her hand.
"Um, Master, can I ask a question?"
"A question? Of course you should ask if there's something you don't understand."
"How do you know all this, Master? If it's not a power from your traits, I'm curious how you found out about it."
I'd expected a question about Demonic Energy, but she went straight for the root of it all.
Explaining this would require telling her about my time in the other world, but there was no need to go that far.
"You don't need to know how I found out. Just learn Black Magic and become useful to me—that's your job."
"Ah, got it. I won't ask about it anymore, then."
"Now, to use Black Magic, you need to handle Demonic Energy directly. I'm going to infuse some into your body right now, so focus and feel it carefully."
Perhaps thinking this was the real start of her Black Magic training, Lee Seoyun looked tense.
"Alright, then lift your shirt and show me your stomach."
"Yes. W-what?"
"The best place to store Demonic Energy in the body is the dantian, right here in your lower abdomen. Even if I put some in now, it might be hard for you to hold onto it with your own power, so I'll help you store it for the time being."
The hardest part of stepping onto the path of a Black Magician is storing Demonic Energy inside your body.
This is the same issue mana users face—they have to get used to the bizarre sensation of storing intangible energy within themselves.
Regular magicians usually have another mage inject mana continuously to help them learn the feeling. But Black Magicians don't have anyone to help like that, so I had to figure it out solo. I remember that well.
On top of that, while mana users can absorb ambient mana and make it their own, Demonic Energy has to come from defeating monsters. At first, I couldn't absorb it even after killing them, so I wasted a ton.
Compared to those days, Lee Seoyun here has the perfect setup: being taught directly by a top-tier Black Magician like me. She probably has no idea how lucky she is.
But when I told her to show her stomach, she avoided my eyes, hung her head, and froze up.
Looking closer, her body was trembling slightly.
What the hell was this about all of a sudden?
"Hey, what's wrong with you?"
"Y-yes?! No, I mean... Do I really have to show my stomach?"
Her voice shook as she averted her gaze. It seemed like she really didn't want to show it to me.
What's the big deal about baring her stomach?
"There are other places to store it besides the dantian, but for a beginner, the dantian is best. Plus, direct skin contact makes it easier to transfer. Why? Got some reason you don't want to show me?"
Lee Seoyun nodded faintly.
She doesn't want to show her stomach...
I could understand a woman not wanting to bare her skin, but this didn't feel like mere embarrassment over a bit of flab.
I pondered why she was so against it, and that's when I noticed the scar on her face—wait, no, something about her reminded me.
"Is there a scar on your stomach too?"
She flinched and clutched her stomach with her hands.
That reaction confirmed it.
"What kind of scar is it that's got you like this?"
The facial scar wasn't pretty by normal standards, but her overreaction to the stomach one suggested something worse.
Lee Seoyun hesitated for a moment before standing up.
"A-alright. Fine... Just don't freak out when you see it."
Now she was making me even more curious.
What kind of scar could cause this?
Lee Seoyun slowly lifted her top, revealing her stomach to me.
And when I saw the scars right in front of me, I understood exactly why she didn't want to show them.
Yeah, this was bad.
There were small, circular burn scars scattered around—probably from cigarette burns.
But I suspected the main reason she hated showing it was the scar below her navel.
It looked like it'd been carved with a sharp knife on purpose, but hacked at so messily and crudely that it was truly hideous.
Looking closely at the scar, though, I could tell there were letters underneath that had been slashed over.
The letters... "Trash" or something? Wait, "T"?
Even an idiot could figure out why she reacted like this at this point.
Someone she'd wanted revenge on must have done this to her.
As a woman, I could understand why she'd crave vengeance after something like that.
"That's why you didn't want to show it."
"I-it's ugly, right?"
"Yeah... it is pretty ugly."
She squeezed her eyes shut at my words.
No point in lying and saying it looked fine or pretty—that wouldn't comfort her at all. Better to be honest.
Instead, maybe my job as her master was to help her get revenge on the bastard who did this.
I placed my hand on her closed-eyed stomach—right on the scar she didn't want anyone to see. She tried to pull back immediately.
"Stay still. Don't move from there."
"O-okay..."
"I'm going to push Demonic Energy into your body now. Focus on the sensation as it enters."
I let a tiny trickle of Demonic Energy flow from my hand onto her lower abdomen.
Her body twitched as she felt it enter.
"Once you sense the Demonic Energy, imagine gathering it into a ball in your gut."
"Got it."
I kept feeding her small amounts of Demonic Energy while guiding it so she could feel it properly.
If I just shoved it in without guidance, any she couldn't grasp would dissipate right out of her body. So I circulated it: from my hand into her, then back to me.
If she could take control of even a portion during this, I'd say she'd taken her first real step as a Black Magician.
For hours, we stayed like that, motionless and focused solely on the Demonic Energy.
Standing still and concentrating every nerve on it wasn't easy—sweat beaded on her skin.
Then, a portion of the circulating Demonic Energy peeled off under her will.
"Hah... hah... I think I got it!"
Surprisingly, Lee Seoyun picked up the knack for controlling it quickly.
It was still a tiny amount, but handling a foreign energy for the first time isn't easy. She learned faster than expected.
I retracted the rest of the Demonic Energy I'd been feeding her.
"Can you feel the Demonic Energy inside you now?"
"Yes. It's there. Tiny compared to what you just sent in, but... definitely inside me."
I'd thought it'd take days to handle, but she managed it in one. She really has talent.
Of course, the superior environment—unlike my solo struggles—helped a lot.
Back in my day, I didn't have anything like this steady Demonic Energy flow to practice with.
"Good. For today, practice holding onto the Demonic Energy in your body without letting any leak out, all day long. From now on, we'll do this daily, building up a little more each time."
"And eventually, I'll be able to use Black Magic?"
"Yeah, but it'll take a bit more time."
My body was getting stiff from sitting so long, so I stretched and tossed her a question.
"That scar earlier—was it from someone you want revenge on?"
"...Yes, that's right."
"Do you know where that guy is now? Or should we confirm if he's even still alive first?"
She shook her head.
"She's probably still alive. I overheard those two dead girls talking about her. Even in this zombie apocalypse, she's living it up... I know where she is too."
"That's good news. It'd be a pain if you didn't know where your revenge target was."
Now that I'd taken her as my disciple, it felt natural to help with what she wanted as her master.
And right now, there was only one thing to help with.
Carrying out Lee Seoyun's revenge.
To prepare for any mishaps where her target might die before she could, we should probably capture her first.
Then help her live comfortably and safely... until the moment she masters Black Magic, when I can let her exact her revenge.
In the meantime, while she's practicing, I can go handle my own business.
Her revenge target is a woman named Joo Hyeri, and I've got her suspected location. Time to check it out today.